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Medical helicopter hit bad weather before crash

Published on NewsOK
Modified: December 11, 2012 at 4:29 pm •
Published: December 11, 2012

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CHICAGO (AP) — A medical helicopter pilot hit bad weather and was trying to return to the hospital hangar shortly before the aircraft crashed into a northern Illinois field, killing him and two nurses, authorities said Tuesday.

This Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2012, aerial photo taken from video provided by WLS-TV in Chicago shows the wreckage of a medical helicopter that crashed in a field near Rochelle, Ill., while traveling between two northern Illinois hospitals. The pilot and two nurses were killed in the crash. No patients were aboard when the helicopter went down Monday night about 70 miles west of Chicago. A spokesman for Rockford Memorial Hospital says its helicopter was flying to pick up a patient at a Mendota hospital. (AP Photo/Courtesy WLS-TV in Chicago)

Pilot Andy Olesen radioed to dispatchers at Rockford Memorial Hospital that he was turning around because he had "encountered some weather" while heading to another hospital to pick up a patient Monday night, hospital spokesman Wester Wuori said.

Olesen, 65, and flight nurses Karen Hollis, 48, and Jim Dillow, 40, died when the plane crashed about 8:30 p.m. near Rochelle, about 70 miles west of Chicago. No patients were aboard at the time.

The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating.

National Weather Service observations showed light snow, seven-mile visibility and light winds in the Rochelle area around the time of the crash, meteorologist Jamie Enderlen said. She said the NWS usually worries about visibility of a mile or less, "but there could have been localized" weather at the point the helicopter turned around.

Wuori said he was not sure where the helicopter was when Olesen turned. It crashed several miles south of Rochelle.

The hospital issued a statement saying it was grieving for "three heroes who dedicated their careers to serving others."

"This is just a complete shock to everybody," Wuori said. "The crew ... worked with so many people."

Wuori said the hospital bought the helicopter in 1991 and it had a "perfect safety record up until last night." The hospital contracted with Colorado-based Air Methods for services, which included the pilot, maintenance and FAA certification.